Tax Lien Off...But for how long?

I recently got a paid Federal Tax lien of T.U. report via a "incorrect amount" dispute. A friend of mine told me not to get too excited as the CRA's check the public records every 3-6 months and once they do that they will pick up the lien again and reinsert?

I have had my California and Federal tax liens removed from my reports, and they haven't ever come back.

HOWEVER.

If someone were to do a public records search on you, since most of the public records data is available online, they would likely still find the lien. I did a quick records search on myself, and sure enough, my tax liens pop up as plain as day.

When I got my mortgage last year, I was discussing tax liens with the person who was working on my loan. They were still on my credit report at that time (hence lowering my scores). One lien was paid and one was unpaid. The mortgage person told me that they would have found the data (and still made me pay the lien before funding) even if they were not listed on my credit reports. The difference is that people who think their liens have vanished because they don't show up on their credit reports and begin the mortgage process are in for a shock before closing.

But were I you, I wouldn't worry about it showing up on your reports again.

Ahh, and if it does get reinserted, the CRA reinserting has 5 business days to notify you of the reinsertion...haven't heard them doing that yet. (you can look up the whole statute, its part of the FCRA.)

Just threatened to sue CSC if the didn't delete a reinsertion...worked like a charm